A 38-year-old North Carolina mom is still recovering, more than four years after giving birth.
Leslie Jordan was 33 years old when she gave birth to her son, but following the delivery, learned that her slurred speech, loss of mobility, intense pain, and preeclampsia diagnosis were leading to a stroke.
According to Go Red for Women, a new mom at the time, Jordan suffered several strokes and seizures.
“It’s like everything was taken away from me,” Jordan said. “I had to just literally leave my old life behind me and focus on the now to survive.”
Jordan experienced an excruciating headache, a feeling that she described as a “bowling ball or a house” on top of her head. As she tried to communicate with medical professionals, she was experiencing unbearable pain and felt as if her body was on fire.
“I yelled as loud as I could, ‘I am having a stroke,’” Jordan said.
“The streets were
new. The signs didn’t make any sense. The car we were riding in didn’t seem familiar. I didn’t know where I was,” she said. “I didn’t even recognize my own bedroom. I was like, ‘This is where I live?’ I just thought, ‘OK, if I wake up tomorrow, maybe my life will come back.’”Jordan woke up weeks later unaware of where she was or what happened. As part of her recovery, the new mom had to relearn how to talk, but was eventually able to hold her son. After being released from the hospital, Jordan’s surroundings were unfamiliar.
“It took me a while to realize I was a mom. I think my motherhood, as you would say, didn’t really start until my son was 3 years old because I didn’t have the capability,” she shared. “Me and my son, it’s just like we kind of grew up together. We learned to walk at the same time. We learned how to talk at the same time.”
Over four years later, Jordan has brain damage and continues her recovery at home with the help of her husband, going to doctors’ appointments, and continuing rehab.
“God gave me a second chance. I’m doing the best I can with it,” Jordan said.
Jordan has been named as part of the American Heart Association’s 2023 class of “Real Women” survivors, and a 2023 Go Red for Women national ambassador.